


Remnants

by Multikicker



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: DDoS, F/F, Flying Spider, Good people can work for bad organisations and vice versa, Lena has been done a confuse, Sad sad Sombra, Tags to be added as chapters are released to keep suspense, redwings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 20:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12660798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multikicker/pseuds/Multikicker
Summary: Everything leaves a remnant, something that for good or ill reminds us of that particular instance in time.Remnants of happiness can lead to more happiness, or possibly despair.Remnants of anger can lead to more anger, or possibly acceptance.And remnants of selfishness can lead to more selfishness, or possibly altruism.Here are some remnants.





	Remnants

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a DDoS fic. In computer terminology, DDoS stands for 'Direct Denial of Service', or the slowing and even removal of internet service to a specific web page or area.
> 
> In this fic, it represents the ship of Tracer/Sombra.
> 
> Irony. It's supposed to convey irony.

Sombra threw herself around the corner, diving headfirst into cover as the pulse bomb exploded behind her. "Cheers, luv! The cavalry's here!" The cheerful voice carried over the barrier, and she had to choke back a sob. No. Not now. Save it for later. As she slotted a fresh clip into her uzi, she remembered what Widowmaker had said to her, before this deployment. " _ They took her back. It is likely that they were able to break the reconditioning, and 'restore' her. The Lena you loved is gone, Sombra. She never really existed in the first place. For your sake, remember that." _ Heaven knew she had tried, but she couldn't. Every time she heard that happy laugh, that cockney accent, it all came back. The late nights they'd spent watching old b-movies, how she'd hugged Lena and ruffled her hair, smiling as her love laughed. She couldn't let that go, couldn't accept that the Lena she loved had been a lie. She had been real, she had existed, and Sombra had  _ loved her.  _ She had to keep that Lena alive.

Sombra peered over the barrier, pistol at the ready.  _ Just distract her, Sombra. Escape. Get away, away from her.  _ The street was empty, and Tracer was gone. She sighed and turned around, slumping against the wall tiredly. For a moment, she her mask slip, drawing in a rapid gasps of breath.  _ You can't keep this up forever, chica. There’ll be a time when it’ll wind up killing you. _ She knew that, but she needed to keep going. She would deny Overwatch their goals, for as long as she had breath. She would try and avenge her Lena.

There was a wrinkle in space, a flicker of light, and Tracer popped into existence in front of her, aiming down at her with one of her pulse pistols. Sombra flinched, and tried to scramble backwards, only to have her way blocked by the barrier. She was trapped.

"By the authority invested in me by the countless warrants for your capture, I am placing ya under arrest." Sombra stared up at Tracer, desperately clinging to her last bits of composure. Forcing a smile, she slowly gave Lena - no, Tracer, not her Lena - the middle finger. "You looked better in black." She said, activating her translocator and warping away.

Or trying to.

Sombra frantically keyed at her holographic display, trying to escape. She looked up at Tracer in dread, heart falling as the British woman began to chuckle. “Looking for something?” Tracer asked with a smirk. Reaching into a pocket, She removed the broken form of the translocator, tossing it onto the ground at her feet. She reached out for her shattered device feebly, but drew her hand back sharply as Lena - not her Lena, Tracer - approached.

Sombra winced as Tracer knelt down in front of her, dangling a pair of handcuffs off a finger and smiling. She fixed her gaze solidly on the chronal accelerator, avoiding Tracer's gaze.  _ Don't look at her eyes. Don't do it. It'll make it so much worse. It'll hurt you. Don't. _ Tracer kept swinging the cuffs. "S'matter, cat got your tongue? I can't believe this is the great Sombra I'm talking to." Sombra didn't respond at first. She shuddered, crumbling, trying to contain the rush of emotions that punctuated each of Tracer's sentences. Finally, she spoke. "........that's not my name." She said, pulling her legs close and wrapping them with her arms. "Wot?" Tracer looked bemused, and the cuffs stopped swinging for a moment. Sombra opened her mouth again, but all that came out was a choked sob. She rocked back and forth, crying, falling apart. ".....my name is Olivia......." She whispered finally. "My name is Olivia, Lena.......I......" The tears and sobs kept coming. There was no damming them back up. ".....I can't.......I......I.....just......please leave me alone.......I can't h-handle....this."

* * *

Lena stared at the sobbing hacker, totally nonplussed. As far as she could remember, this was not normally behaviour for the usually cheeky Sombra. Something was definitely amiss, and, well…... _Curiosity's my vice, what can I say?_ She reached out and tried to lay a hand on Sombra's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting way, but the other woman brushed it off with a…..whimper? _No touching, then. Curiouser and curiouser….._ ** _it's not that strange_** _……course it is, though._ “What's wrong, love?” She asked, putting away her handcuffs. Sombra wiped away tears and looked up, and Lena saw heartbreak in her purple eyes. **_Isn't it obvious?_** _Not really, strange voice in my head._ “It's…...you…..you're...wrong…” Sombra whispered, and began to softly cry again. **_Bingo._** “You're not her…..” Lena raised an eyebrow. _So that's what this is all about._ ** _No shit, Sherlock._** _You're making me irritated, voice._ ** _‘S m’job._** _You're very good at it, then._ “Not her?” She asked, sensing the direction this was about to go. Sombra sniffled again, drawing herself even further into a ball. “..........not my Lena….not my _rapida_ …...” _Bollocks._ She turned, and sat down alongside Sombra, against the barrier, and once again grasped the hacker’s hand gently. “Could you show her to me, your Lena?” She asked, trying to give what she felt was a reassuring smile. Sombra wiped her eyes again, and nodded mutely, waving her free hand into the air.

Holographic displays winked into life all around them, showing countless pictures and videos. All of them of her. In one scene, she watched herself, clad in black and red, spin Sombra around in a dance, the two of them laughing. _Is that real?_ ** _What d’you think?_** An image flickered past her, freezing into place. It was of a cliffside, dappled in a sunset that shimmered off of the waters below. And there she was again, dangling her legs over the edge, smiling widely at the camera. God, she looked so happy, so complete. _I haven't felt like that since the Slipstream…..._ ** _No, you haven't. It's hard for you to stay above the pain._** _I don't need you to tell me that, voice._ ** _Or maybe you do._** Another video, and this time her heart caught in her chest. She saw herself pull Sombra close in a hug, and heard the hacker whisper in her ear. “Promise me you'll stay safe, _rapida._ Come back to me, okay?” She saw herself smile fondly and run a hand through Sombra's hair. “I always do, love.” Lena saw herself whisper that into Sombra's ear, and felt a pang of…….something. Sorrow? She knew that after she- or rather, not-she -had reassured Sombra that she would return safely, she had failed. Sombra's Lena had let her love down. _She let her down._ ** _I let her down._** _…….y’wot?_ ** _Olivia…..I...I wasn't strong enough…..I couldn't get back to you……_** _...oh gods...are you…...her Lena?_ ** _You could say that, yes. Or the remnants of her._** Slowly, Lena reached out and wrapped an arm around Sombra, trying to comfort the sobbing hacker. But what could she say? There was nothing she could say that would make this right again. Nothing that could fix that which had been broken. **_Except there is._** _‘Scuse me?_ ** _Do you want to help her? Do you care?_** **_Do you want her to be happy? You're not even happy yourself. Do you want to be happy?_** _I…...yes. I never wanted any of this. Every day hurts, it feels like any second I could fall again, back into nothing._ ** _Close your eyes._** _What?_ ** _Just do it._** She squeezed Sombra's hand again, and closed her eyes. _Now what?_ ** _Open them again._** _Then what was the point?_ She opened her eyes again and froze. All around was a vast plain of empty whiteness. And standing in front of her, she saw herself, just like in Sombra's photos. Black leather jacket, Union Jack patch on the right sleeve, Talon patch on the left. Tinted aviators, red accelerator. Black flatcap, twirling on an outstretched finger. All that was missing was that radiant smile. Instead, her double sported a thin grimace that dissolved into a worried expression when she saw Lena. “Lena.” Her double said, stopping spinning the cap and stepping forward. “Lena.” She replied, moving forward in turn. “Are you sure about this?” Her double asked. “There's no going back. I won't force you.” Lena gave a weak smile. “If it’ll help her, it’ll help me. I want ta give the two of you back what you had. I'll never have anything like it anyway.” Her double pulled off the sunglasses and hugged her tightly, and Lena leaned in hesitantly. “You can, Lena. We can be whole again. Overwatch told you Talon made you into a monster, that they saved you from being a killing machine, but all they did was drag you back to being unhappy. We can change that, if you want.” She nodded slowly, returning the embrace. “If we can be happy, please….” She felt a pat on her back, and smiled. “This'll feel a bit weird.” She heard her double say, and then felt a strange tingling sensation. Looking down, she saw the form of the woman hugging her bleeding into her own, colours mingling together. She felt a chill as her double faded, like a cold wind washing over her. It wrapped around her, coiling, and as she watched she began to change. The blacks and reds seeped onto her like ink onto paper, staining her tan jacket with dark streaks. The blue hue of her accelerator became tinged with red spots, casting a myriad of chromatic light on the blank background.

A last, faint whisper was all that remained of the woman that had been there, drifting back to her on the unseen wind.

 

**_Open your eyes, Lena._ **

 

Lena opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. She still sat there, leaning against the barricade.  _ Guess that’s that, then. It didn’t work. I’m just - wait.  _ There was a buzzing in the back of her head, increasing every second. She winced, hissing in pain as images flashed into her mind, the rush of sights, sounds, and memories causing her to recoil. Everything was a blur, and she vaguely felt herself slide down the barrier into the ground. Through flickering eyelids she could see Sombra leaning over her worriedly, but at the same time she was seeing so many other moments that it was hard to know which was real. A storm of thoughts mixed with her own, recollections of her time with Talon permeating her thoughts, and then she remembered everything. The visions coalesced into a single picture, and suddenly she was in a darkened room, tied to a chair. She struggled, but to no avail. She was trapped. Looking around, figures resolved at the edge of her vision, closing in around her. “Lena. Lena, can you hear me?” That was Morrison, then. “You're making a mistake.” She said, refusing to meet the eyes of her captors. Another figure stepped into the light, leaning down to look at her concernedly. “I swear we’ll bring you back to yourself, Lena. We’ll fix you.” She looked up at Angela Ziegler and glared. She didn't need fixing, why couldn't they see that? “I will make you regret this. I’ll make it out of here. I made a promise. And if you try and stop me, I'll never forgive ya, and I'll show you no mercy.” The last figure stepped forward and jabbed a syringe into her neck. As she blacked out, the last thing she saw was the disapproving gaze of Ana Amari staring down at her.

“ _ -ida! Mi rapida _ , wake up, wake up, please! Don't leave me again! Please….” Lena opened her eyes to see Sombra above her, tears running down the hacker’s face. She blinked, and reached up to hug Sombra, pulling her close and running a hand through her hair gently. “It's fine, love.” She whispered. “It's fine. I'm here. I'm not leaving you again. I’ll never let you go. I'll be here. Okay?” Sombra nodded and pulled closer, burying herself in Lena's jacket.

* * *

They stayed that way for a while until Widowmaker found them, still wrapped in each other's arms and sobbing quietly.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been mugged by writer's block in regards to Since I Fell For You, so have this instead.
> 
> Please also take this vaguely formulated excuse which in no way excuses my personal writing inadequacies.
> 
> As always, comments and criticisms are welcome and encouraged.
> 
> 'Til next time, then.


End file.
